The attack comes a day after the Somali government had issued a "terror warning" in the capital.

The explosions shattered a months-long period of calm in Mogadishu, which is often the target of attacks by al-Shabab.

In December, 18 police officers were killed when an al-Shabab fighter blew himself up inside the country's main police academy in Mogadishu.

The capital was also the target of a truck bombing in October that killed 512 people in the deadliest attack in Somalia's history. The Somali government blamed that blast on the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab.